GOING to an Indian restaurant is not really just about eating food, effectively it is a rite of passage.

The teenage post-pub nosh-up, the romantic first-date curry, where eyes meet nervously over onion bhajis, and then the family festival of delicious delights that mark the advancing of the years.

And this is how you find me, the wife, my daughter Nina and baby Tyler in the wonderment of the Bay Leaf in the heart of Llandaff village.

It is the perfect Indian in many ways, dark and infused with atmosphere. A sitar twangs discretely in the background while the staff are attentive without lapsing into a sycophancy not seen since the height of the Raj.

Personally I prefer my Indian restaurants like this, traditional. The new antiseptic, modern variety just don’t feel right to me, incongruent like a dog wearing a small hat.

In food as in life, we must strive for purity and that has always been my philosophy when it comes to Indian cuisine.

Drink water with your food please, if you will not, drink strong lager until you find yourself arguing about X Factor even though you’ve never watched it. Then stop.

One must have poppadoms and chutneys before anything else.

For starters we adults have a sheek kebab and a king prawn puri, both prove delicious and the perfect way to get the juices flowing ahead of the delights to come.

And it is worth the wait for the main courses. The chicken tikka announces itself as it leaves the kitchen, a crescendo of sizzling as if saying: ‘Fear not, I am coming to you my hungry friend!’

The cubes of fresh chicken at the Bay Leaf are so succulent they tease you.

My wife has a side-dish as a main course in the shape of a chana aloo, a concoction including chick peas and diced potatoes and perfect for the vegetarian.

The tendency when having Indian food is to try to over-complicate things. There is no need, particularly at the Bay Leaf where the most simple dish is spiced and seasoned to perfection, a place indeed where the most basic of morsels becomes a treat and simple food, a feast.

Nina is quite happy with chicken kurma. Perfect for the little ones and served here in a wonderfully mild, creamy sauce caressing generous cuts of chicken.

In Indian dining the sundries are as important as the main courses themselves. Pilau rice is the staple for us and I go for a keema naan. The Bay Leaf has perhaps the finest keema naans in Cardiff, the flat bread stuffed with succulent mincemeat. You could cry as you eat them, but only if you are easily moved as I am. As I get older, I admit I do find myself becoming more sentimental.

Indian food really is British food now. Absorbed into the culture, it is perhaps one of the greatest symbols of the multiculturalism those who now inhabit these islands are lucky enough to enjoy.

Do yourself a favour, head to the Bay Leaf, let some love, some light and not to mention some wonderful food into your life.